M74: The Perfect Spiral 

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 也許它還不夠完美，不過至少這個螺旋星系是屬於最上相者之一。 這個正面對著我們的壯麗M74，是一個位在雙魚座內的宇宙島，距離我們有三千二百萬光年遠，擁有大約一千億顆成員星。被歸類為Sc星系的M74，它巨大且優雅的漩渦臂上面鑲著明亮的藍色星團和黝黑的宇宙塵埃帶。 這張極清晰的影像是從哈伯太空望遠鏡的先進巡天相機，在2003年和2005年所拍攝的影像組合出來的。影像涵蓋了星系M74表面約三萬光年的區域，部份影像之曝光在於捕捉了氫原子所發出的幅射，因此突顯了星系內會發出紅色輝光的大型恆星形成區。

  If not perfect, then this spiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. An island universe of about 100 billion stars, 32 million light-years away toward the constellation Pisces, M74 presents a gorgeous face-on view. Classified as an Sc galaxy, the grand design of M74′s graceful spiral arms are traced by bright blue star clusters and dark cosmic dust lanes. Constructed from image data recorded in 2003 and 2005, this sharp composite is from the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Spanning about 30,000 light-years across the face of M74, it includes exposures recording emission from hydrogen atoms, highlighting the reddish glow of the galaxy’s large star-forming regions.

Space Station Over the Ionian Sea 

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八月時，奮進號太空梭拍攝到這張以地球為背景的國際太空站 (ISS)。在往返國際太空站的行程，太空梭的人員給予太空站補給和維修，甚至幫忙擴建。它的主要任務完成之後，工作人員便駕駛著太空梭在太空站附近飛行。上面這張飛行時拍攝的照片中，國際太空站的後方就是愛奧尼亞海。靴子狀的義大利半島就在影像的左方，而希臘以及阿爾巴尼亞的西海岸則是橫跨在影像的上方。由影像最上方延伸而下，外形像魚鰭的是上下顛倒的太空梭尾翼。發現號太空梭緊接著於10月造訪國際太空站，同時，下個飛往國際太空站的太空梭計畫將在下星期發射。

Last August, the Space Shuttle Endeavor crew captured this shot of the International Space Station (ISS) against the backdrop of Planet Earth. During that trip to the ISS, the space shuttle crew re-supplied the station, repaired the station, and even built more of the station. Its primary mission complete, the crew took the premier spaceship on a tour around the premier space station. Pictured during this inspection tour, the ISS is visible in front the Ionian Sea. The boot of Italy is visible on the left, while the western coastlines of Greece and Albania stretch across the top. The dorsal fin of the upside-down shuttle orbiter pokes into the very top of the image. The Space Shuttle Discovery subsequently visited the ISS in October while the next shuttle mission to the ISS is scheduled for next week.

Moon Over Pigeon Point Lighthouse 

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這是一幅多數由人為的壯麗景像。位於美國 加洲 舊金山附近的鴿子角燈塔已經有100年的歷史。在這些年間，光是藉由五個煤油燈，以及24個旋轉的菲涅爾透鏡 (Fresnel lenses)，來警告靠進的船隻停止前進。上星期初，由鴿子角燈塔所發出來的光特別美麗，因為天空中瀰漫著薄霧，連遠方的月亮也顯得有點模糊。在1970年代晚期，燈塔內放置著一個重達800磅，使用豬油的油燈。在現代，燈塔仍然活躍，但已改用較有效率的飛航燈。

This spectacular sky is mostly human-made. Once a year, the Light Station at Pigeon Point near San Francisco, California, USA is lit as it was over 100 years ago. During this time, light generated by five kerosene lamps pours through 24 rotating Fresnel lenses, warning approaching ships to stay away. Early last week, light emanating from the Pigeon Point Lighthouse was particularly picturesque because of a thin fog, also blurring the distant Moon. During the latter 1970s, the lighthouse was guarded by an 800 pound pig named Lester. In modern times, the light house is still active but has been supplied with a more efficient flashing aerobeacon.

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這蜿蜒而又纏繞的燈絲狀物質是由熾熱氣體形成的，該形狀也已經暗示了該星云通俗的稱呼，那就是水母星雲。水母星雲也被稱為 Abell21 ，是雙子座內一個較老的行星狀星雲 ，距離我們大約 1500 光年。就像它那富有神話色彩的名字一樣，星雲還有一段富有戲劇性的形成過程。這個行星狀星雲所處的階段是類似太陽的低質量恆星演變的最後階段，也就是它將從紅巨星轉變成白矮星，擺脫外層氣體的階段。從熾熱恆星放射出的紫外線激發了星雲，並使它發光發熱。在這張清晰彩色影像中，可以看到水母星雲演變過程中熾熱的中央星，同時在整個明亮新月形的上方還有一顆較小的藍色恆星。還可以清晰地看到較暗的燈絲狀物質向明亮新月區域的上方和左側擴散 據估計水母星雲大小約 4 光年多。

Braided, serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula’s popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like its mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun, as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa’s transforming hot central star is visible in the detailed color image as the small blue star within the upper half of the overall bright crescent shape. Fainter filaments clearly extend above and to the left of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over 4 light-years across.

Pleiades and Stardust

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美麗的昴宿星團 (亦稱為七姐妹星團)離我們只有四百光年遠，正高速通過一團宇宙塵埃雲，因此它也以引人注目的藍色反射星雲著名。這幅精彩、跨幅三度的廣角影像 ，除了呈現了這個著名的星群(右方)之外，同時也突顯了附近聲名不彰，但綿延超過二十光年的廣大塵埃反射星雲。不過在這個案例中，七姐妹星團的眾星和這些宇宙塵埃雲並無關聯，它們只是湊巧同時通過同一個區域而已。不過天文學家使用紅外光偵測器，最近發現了一個圍拱年輕昴宿星團成員星HD 23514的塵埃盤，這個拱星盤的大小和我們太陽系類地行星所佔的區域相當，因此很可能是石質行星形成活動所留下的殘渣。

Hurtling through a cosmic dust cloud a mere 400 light-years away, the lovely Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster is well-known for its striking blue reflection nebulae. This remarkable wide-field (3 degree) image of the region shows the famous star cluster at the right, while highlighting lesser known dusty reflection nebulae nearby, across an area that would span over 20 light-years. In this case, the sister stars and cosmic dust clouds are not related, they just happen to be passing through the same region of space. But astronomers using infrared detectors have recently found a dusty disk that really does belong to one young Pleiades star — HD 23514. Surrounding HD 23514, the disk is estimated to be comparable in size to the terrestrial planet zone in our own solar system and likely represents the debris from the process of rocky planet formation.

A simple interactive flash introducing some fundamental knowledge about black holes

www.thinktechnologies.com/portfolio/demos/Blackhole.html

Expansive Comet Holmes

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霍姆斯彗星球狀的彗髮已經膨脹到超過一百四十萬公里了，稀薄的雲氣甚至已經比太陽還大。這個反射陽光，充滿塵埃和氣體的彗髮，是由活躍的彗核噴發而出，而在 10 月的爆發之前大小僅有 3.4 公里。這張銳利的影像，是由加拿大-法國-夏威夷望遠鏡 (CFHT)於 11 月 14 日所拍攝，透過外圍的彗髮仍可看到後方的星星，而彗核則深埋在中間最緻密且明亮的區域之中。彗髮最明亮的區域已經稍微偏離中心了，這是因為有一塊大型碎片飄離彗核，並且碎裂，導致這次的大爆發。當然，由於霍姆斯彗星正橫越英仙座，最近的影像可看到彗星旁有著一顆明亮的天船三 (英仙座 α 星)。

The spherical coma of Comet Holmes has swollen to a diameter of over 1.4 million kilometers, making the tenuous, dusty cloud even bigger than the Sun. Scattering sunlight, all that dust and gas came from the comet’s remarkably active nucleus, whose diameter before the late October outburst was estimated to be a mere 3.4 kilometers. In this sharp image, recorded on November 14 with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, stars are easily visible right through the outer coma, while the nucleus is buried inside the condensed, bright region. The bright region of the coma seems offset from the center, consistent with the idea that a large fragment drifted away from the nucleus and disintegrated, producing the comet’s spectacular outburst. Of course, more recent images of Holmes also show the bright star Mirfak (Alpha Persei) shining through as the comet sweeps slowly through the constellation Perseus.

Earthrise from Moon Orbiting Kayuga

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由月球上看地球，會是什麼景像？繞著月球運行的月神號太空船拍攝了這張新版的照片。它是兩個月前由日本所發射的月球探測任務 (月神號，Selenological and Engineering Explorer, 簡寫為 SELENE)科學計畫，暱稱為 Kaguya，它的主要目的是研究月球的起源與演化。上個月，月神號已抵達月球軌道，並開始傳輸資料和影像回地球。這張照片是由月神號上的 HDTV 所拍攝。由於月球永遠以同一面對著地球，因此月球上的太空人不可能看到地球東昇的景像。這張地球東昇的照片與40年前阿波羅8號所拍攝的地球東昇照片一樣，都只有在繞月的軌道上才辦得到。

What does the Earth look like from the Moon? A new version of this space age perspective was captured by the robotic Kaguya spacecraft currently in orbit around Earth’s Moon. Launched two months ago by Japan, the scientific mission of the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE), nicknamed Kaguya, is to study the origin and evolution of the Moon. Last month Kaguya reached lunar orbit and starting transmitting data and images. This frame is from Kaguya’s onboard HDTV camera. An astronaut standing on the lunar surface would never actually see the Earth rise, since the Moon always keeps the same side toward the Earth. This Earthrise as well as the famous Earthrise captured 40 years ago by the crew of Apollo 8, only occurs for observers in lunar orbit.

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Chief Executive of Astronomy Club